The Jobs Australia Might See When We Legalise Cannabis

The current situation

With the growing trend of cannabis legalisation, the industry is slowly catching up with the job market. In the coming years, the United States’ cannabis market is likely to even surpass its manufacturing sector.

According to a report by New Frontier Data, the legalisation of marijuana will generate close to 1 million jobs by 2020. Furthermore, when you look at job board websites, there are a number of jobs available that support the growth and widespread sales of marijuana. For those who are looking for a job in the segment, they will find many universal jobs, such as a store manager or a delivery person, while many other jobs are unique to this emerging market.

Due to the recent legalisation trends in the United States and other nations, the industry is searching for workers across a varying spectrum, including accounting, sales personnel, technology, and customer service.

Here are a few jobs Australia might see when the country decides to legalise cannabis in all states.

1. Budtender

In the marijuana market, a budtender is someone who works at the dispensary to answer customers’ questions. They help the customer understand the product and the way to consume it. Additionally, the budtender checks the identification documents and prescription cards of the patients. Because these workers interact with customers, one should have exceptional customer service skills; though previous experience in the field is unnecessary.

2. Edible maker

Cannabis-infused products are the future of the market. Products such as cookies, candies, chocolates, and tea require specialized recipes, and companies are in search of an edibles-maker and/or skilled chefs. The chefs would be held responsible for creating recipes and ensuring the taste of the products. Thus, the ideal skill set of the job would require a person to have widespread knowledge in the culinary industry and experience with food handling.

3. Director of cultivation

Even though many people still look down on those who consume or produce the cannabis products, growing a strong and healthy crop requires excellent cultivation skills. Not only will the director take care of the cultivation, but will also be responsible for watering, feeding, cloning and pest management of the crop.

The person in this position will frequently interact with law enforcement to ensure proper compliance with legal standards. Companies will prefer someone with a Bachelor's or Master's degree in horticulture or agriculture. Additionally, people with intensive greenhouse operation skills are likely to come out with flying colors in this job.

4. Delivery persons

Medical marijuana is prescribed to chronically ill patients who cannot travel to the nearest store for their dosage of medicine. These stores are likely to hire a delivery person, usually a truck driver holding a valid driver’s license. Such a job will require someone with a clean driving record and no criminal background. Also, owing to the sensitive nature of the drug, many companies are seeking delivery persons with a GPS enabled device to track their movements.

5. Trimmer

Trimmers are another set of entry-level workers who come in handy during the harvest season. The primary role of these workers is to remove the buds from the stem and cut down the leaves during harvest. However, most of the trimmers are hired for a part-time job because the harvest season comes once per year. When hiring trimmers, companies don't look for any specific qualification, but the trimmer has to be at least 21 years old.

6. Production manager

These managers analyze and take care of the entire cycle starting from the time when the seeds are planted to when seeds are sent for sale. The manager is also accountable for process, operation and staff management. They’re even responsible for managing time-lines and budgets. A production manager is one of the key employees for a cannabis manufacturing company

7. Online manager

Today, website, social media accounts and email programs are one of the leading ways to spread information about cannabis and cannabis-infused products. In the digital world, without a proper working website, reaching the potential customers is next to impossible. Therefore, marijuana companies require an online manager who can take care of their website, social media accounts and email messages.

Final words -- it’s just another business

Running a marijuana operation is similar to other businesses. There’s the product which must be manufactured, then marketed and sold by retailers, in a place conveniently located for potential customers, or delivered to them. Like other businesses, a cannabis operation must abide by laws while participating in commerce. Again, like other businesses, a cannabis operation will provide jobs dealing the several stages mentioned above that are necessary to running a successful business.

As the United States has seen a new job creation market with several of its states legalising the plant, so will Australia see the same upon legalisation. If no other argument for legalising the drug is considered, a job creation push must certainly be considered. The number of jobs Australia might see when we legalise cannabis are simply too valuable to ignore.